According to Diane Clehane, who recently had lunch with the high-powered head of the Sandow publishing empire, Sandow is certain that the companies who are going digital are heading in the wrong direction.

Sandow says it comes down to the kind of customers you are looking for, stressing that he goes after “a coveted audience of the most engaged readers” rather than a quantity of eyeballs. And he finds these people by creating luxurious magazines with steep cover prices. The formula seems to work, with his hefty (and gorgeous) print magazines like New Beauty and Luxe Interiors + Design selling really well at the newsstand.

These are not throwaway mags, and the high price means those who buy are certain to engage with the content – and the ads—in a more intense way than typical.

“With NewBeauty selling at three times the price of the category leader [Allure], we’re going to get the best readers. On average, our readers spent 94 minutes with each issue.”

You can’t replicate that with even the most comprehensive digital strategy.

“A lot of media guys are hoping to [shore up their business] online and then pivot to print. It’s not going to happen,” he says. Count Sandow among the growing ranks of business icons who roll their eyes when they hear “print is dead.” Clearly, that is just not so.